Hi,
I had happy little 20 gallon, and decided to upgrade. I bought a 46 bowfront, a nice stand and very expensive lighting my favorite fish store recommended. These guys really are good. Everyone there are fishkeepers, with some having quite a fews years in, so I didn't hesitate to take thier advice.
I didn't research the light, just bought what they recommended. Wasn't even worried, after all Coralife is a big name, right?
After I set up, I waited a few days and put my fish in, along with seeding from the old tank for cycling, including the bio wheel and gravel. In a couple more days, my very expensive light fixture started making very loud noises from it's fans.
So, back to the fish store to exchange it. They started to give me a hard time, apparently Coralife wants customers to contact them directly (big notice in the box with the light I hadn't noticed). I gave the guy a confused look and asked if they didn't back the products they sell. He quickly got the exchange blesssed and tested another fixture for me and off I went.
Well, the new fixture ran for 2 days before the fans started making noises again. Great.
I suppose Coralife doesn't want you contacting the store as with this kind of failure rate, the stores would get fed up and not carry them. This way they don't know and keep sellling unaware.
I didn't mention - the light gets so hot, it was heating my water. 3 degrees over a day. So, when I exchanged it, I bought the legs that are sold seperately to lift it further off the tank (I did have it sitting on acrylic blocks to allow for air circulation, but that apparently wasn't far enough).
So, I just installed the stupid legs, not as easy at it should be, as they don't tell you where to put them for standard tank sizes and they don't slide easily. Anyway, got it done.
Now my versa top won't open because the legs get in the way of the hood. I can't push it back further, because it's already against the filter in the back. While putting the legs on I see my brand new versa top is cracked, probably from the excess heat.
I threw a lot of money at this and it's just one frustration after another.
And if my equipment woes aren't enough, my water won't clear after 2 weeks of being set up. I think it's the laterite, but I don't know, and dont' know what to do about it.
The good news is the fish are very happy, even if the owner is very stressed. Now I have a noisy light, my lid is cracked and won't open and my water is brown.
Well, if you read this far, thanks for letting me vent. Hope someone else learns from something here to make it worthwhile!
Anyone with any experience on my light fitting issue, would love to hear how you resolved yours. I hate the idea of having to take the light off to work in the tank.
Sue
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